THE success of the domestic-based Irish riders at this year’s Gallagher Dublin Horse Show has once again highlighted the value of the Plusvital Premier Series and the role it plays in keeping top-class competition on the Irish circuit.

The series provides some of Ireland’s leading riders with regular high-level competition throughout the season, while the wildcard system offers an added incentive to compete in the National Grand Prix classes.

Niamh McEvoy is a good example of the importance of that pathway. The 2025 National Champion, McEvoy dominated last year’s Plusvital Premier Series, winning six of the seven legs and went on to win a five-star class at the 2025 Show. Despite spending much of this season competing abroad, she returned to Ireland for many of the legs including the most recent one at Tattersalls, using the Grand Prix as preparation ahead of the Dublin Horse Show. That is precisely the type of connection the domestic circuit needs to maintain.

The results at Dublin provided further evidence of the quality of the riders competing throughout the series. Lt Michaeli Byrne, who competed in the Plusvital Premier Series during the season, jumped double clear in the €1 million Rolex Grand Prix to finish fourth.

Mikey Pender, another regular competitor, finished third in the Speed Championship before taking seventh place in the Rolex Grand Prix. Jason Foley used his wildcard opportunity to compete in the five-star classes and went on to finish 13th in the Rolex Grand Prix, while Francis Derwin Jr, also using his wildcard gained through the Series, won the Speed Stakes and finished 15th in the Rolex Grand Prix.

Significant

For a national circuit, those results are significant. The strength of Irish show jumping has always been built, in part, on the quality of competition available at home. The national Grand Prix series gives riders the opportunity to compete against strong fields, while providing valuable experience for horses and younger combinations coming through.

The wildcard system adds another dimension to that competition. For Ireland’s internationally-active riders, the opportunity to earn a place at Dublin can provide a genuine reason to return home and compete in the Plusvital Grand Prix series.

There has been discussion recently around whether those wildcard places should instead be allocated to European-based riders. Such a change would raise questions about what the wildcards are intended to achieve and, more broadly, about the future direction of the domestic circuit.

If the aim is to keep Ireland’s leading riders competing at home, then there is a strong argument for retaining an incentive that rewards success in the Grand Prix series at a national level. The performances at Dublin certainly made that case.

The riders who competed on the Plusvital Premier Series circuit during the season were not out of their depth when they reached the RDS. They went on to compete successfully against some of the best horse-and-rider combinations in the world.

That is the value of a strong domestic series - and why maintaining that pathway matters to Irish show jumping.